Tonya+Reaves


 * SUMMARY: Tonya Reaves, age 24, bled to death July 21, 2012 from an abortion performed by Mandy Gittler at Planned Parenthood, Chicago, IL**

Tonya Reaves, age 24, was rushed to Northwest Memorial Hospital in Chicago and pronounced dead at 11:20 p.m. on Friday, July 21, 2012.

She was taken there from the Planned Parenthood facility at 18 S. Michigan Avenue, which advertises abortions up to 18 weeks. Tonya had undergone a D&E abortion, which indicates that she was likely between 14 and 18 weeks pregnant, although a misdiagnosis of fetal age might be the underlying cause of the injury.

Tonya was engaged to be married and had a little son, Alvin, who had just celebrated his first birthday. Her FaceBook page shows a vibrant, smiling young woman having fun on vacation with her family and friends.

Tonya's twin sister, Toni, told CBS Chicago, "We were born the same day. She was my other half." She expressed her bewilderment and shock:

"It happened so fast. She was just fine one day and then the next day she was gone. We’re just trying to figure out what happened… what happened."

The Centers for Disease Control published back in 1983, "Deaths from hemorrhage associated with legal induced abortion should not occur." In every hemorrhage death they investigated, "Lack of adequate postoperative monitoring or treatment of hemorrhagic shock" was a factor.

Tonya's death was no exception. Her abortion was performed at 11:00 a.m., but she remained at the facility for hours until finally an ambulance was called, taking her to the hospital at 4:30 p.m. At 5:30 p.m., doctors performed an ultrasound, followed by another D&E procedure, though it is unclear whether they were removing retained tissue or aborting a second fetus. Tonya had continued pain and bleeding, so a second ultrasound was performed, revealing a uterine perforation. It is unclear whether this was a perforation from the initial D&E at Planned Parenthood or from the follow-up at the hospital.

Regardless of the source of the perforation, Tonya was returned to surgery, where “an uncontrollable bleed was discovered.” She was pronounced dead at 11:20 p.m.

The CDC's article noted, "Deaths from hemorrhage can be eliminated by preventing uterine trauma during abortion and by rapidly diagnosing and treating hemorrhage if it occurs." Planned Parenthood, for some reason, failed to prevent the uterine trauma and failed to rapidly diagnose and treat Tonya's hemorrhage. The abortion giant has a lot of explaining to do.




 * "Woman Dies Following Abortion At Planned Parenthood Clinic," CBS Chicago, July 21, 2012
 * "Family Seeks Answers After Woman's Death Following Abortion," CBS Chicago, July 21, 2012
 * "Woman Dies After Abortion at Planned Parenthood Clinic," Chicago Sun-Times, July 22, 2012
 * "Documents Shed Light on Woman's Death After Abortion," CBS Chicago, July 24, 2012